Giants will turn to rookie running back David Wilson now, with Andre Brown out

Rookie David Wilson will see increased playing time now with Andre Brown out with a broken leg.Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger

Henry Hynoski shared his plan firmly and matter-of-factly: Every day after practice this week, rookie David Wilson will be spending at least an extra hour in the meeting room with the second-year fullback.

It’s something the two players started to do over the past few weeks. Hynoski’s not a veteran yet, but he’s taking an active role in making sure Wilson can contribute to this football team. Acting as a teacher, Hynoski will administer a daily quiz, asking Wilson to write down on a blank piece of paper all the pass protections in the offense and his assignments on each one.

Hynoski said he’ll be “extra hard” on him this week, because there’s no longer room for error with the first-round pick. Running back Andre Brown suffered a broken fibula in Sunday night’s win against the Packers, which means one thing for Wilson: “It’s his time,” coach Tom Coughlin said.

Brown will be placed on injured reserve, with the designation to return. The option of surgery is being discussed, Coughlin said, though a procedure would not necessarily be an automatic season-ender.

This is the last week teams can use the one-time designation — which keeps a player out six weeks of practice and eight weeks of games — so the Giants might as well keep open the option of Brown returning for the Super Bowl. Coughlin said it is “realistic” but also a motivational tactic.

“I think it’s going to provide Andre with great incentive,” Coughlin said. “We want that experience for him. He was very disappointed (Sunday) night, let’s put it that way, and frustrated. He’s had some seasons end in this way before, and I think this is a way to motivate, inspire him, give him great purpose, and hopefully that will help.”

Brown, originally a fourth-round pick by the Giants in 2009, tore his Achilles tendon in his rookie training camp. He bounced around the league before finding success back with the Giants, scoring a team-high eight rushing touchdowns and averaging 5.3 yards per carry this season.

In Sunday night’s 38-10 win over the Packers, he split the rushing load with starter Ahmad Bradshaw, playing 24 offensive snaps to Bradshaw’s 29 before leaving the game. Bradshaw and Wilson are now the only two running backs on the active roster, along with Hynoski, a complement Coughlin called “about as thin as you would make it.”

The Giants will evaluate the position in the coming days, Coughlin said. A handful of free-agent running backs worked out for the Giants during last week’s bye, including Ryan Torain, Joseph Addai, Mewelde Moore and Kregg Lumpkin.

Another possible option? Former Don Bosco Prep standout Ryan Grant, who began his career with the Giants before being traded to the Packers in 2007, and played a brief stint with the Redskins last year.

But perhaps most important is getting a contribution out of Wilson, the former Virginia Tech star drafted No. 32 overall. Hynoski is one of many lending a hand, explaining, “We need more out of him, obviously.”

“David wants to be on the field, but the main thing as a running back, you’ve got to protect the quarterback,” Hynoski said. “That’s the thing that often goes overlooked, and I think it’s something that he’s starting to realize and he’s going to be taking a lot of pride in.”

The offensive coaches have not been shy about identifying pass protection as the area where Wilson must earn their trust in order to get more playing time. Wilson, who has just 24 carries for 102 yards and one touchdown this season, admits this frustrates him.

He believes that’s an evaluation from his college film, because he said he hasn’t gotten many chances to show he’s up for the job, and in the snaps he has been given, he said he has not given up a sack.

But that’s beside the point now. Wilson said the coaches told him with Brown out, he’s the next guy in, so his opportunities are about to grow. Between his work with Hynoski, and watching Bradshaw and Brown, the rookie said he’s ready.

“The other weeks, you come in hoping and just trying to be persistent, and hoping and wishing you get your opportunity, and now you know this week, you will,” said Wilson, who plans to maintain his kick returner role. “Unconsciously, you automatically take a different approach.”